From the Mat of Matthew Sweigarthttp://www.matthewsweigart.com
HeartMind BodyworkThu, 08 Dec 2016 20:47:15 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.1Daily Stretchinghttp://www.matthewsweigart.com/daily-stretching/
http://www.matthewsweigart.com/daily-stretching/#respondWed, 29 Apr 2015 17:46:32 +0000http://www.matthewsweigart.com/?p=1127If you want to know the secret key to lifelong vitality, you need to simply start a daily stretching routine. And not just stretching for your physical body, but for your mind and heart as well. The key is to tune into the life energy flow in your body, and let each stretch you do, […]

]]>If you want to know the secret key to lifelong vitality, you need to simply start a daily stretching routine. And not just stretching for your physical body, but for your mind and heart as well. The key is to tune into the life energy flow in your body, and let each stretch you do, enhance your overall life appreciation and quality. Meridian Stretch Exercise is one of the best systems I know, and it is a perfect companion to the Meridian Gesture Qigong movement practice. You can find these described in detail in my new book HeartMind Shiatsu, Harmonizing Heaven and Earth. And you’ll see both systems demonstrated on my DVD of the same name. Check my product page for details.

]]>http://www.matthewsweigart.com/daily-stretching/feed/0The Three Layers of Healthhttp://www.matthewsweigart.com/the-three-layers-of-health/
http://www.matthewsweigart.com/the-three-layers-of-health/#respondWed, 04 Feb 2015 05:30:45 +0000http://www.matthewsweigart.com/?p=427The Three Layers of Health The therapeutic application of HeartMind Shiatsu draws heavily from a Classical Chinese Medicine teaching of three layers of health. With this approach, a wide range of circumstances can be addressed and effectively treated. For the person new to HeartMind Shiatsu, this can be quite a surprise, as these three layers […]

The therapeutic application of HeartMind Shiatsu draws heavily from a Classical Chinese Medicine teaching of three layers of health. With this approach, a wide range of circumstances can be addressed and effectively treated. For the person new to HeartMind Shiatsu, this can be quite a surprise, as these three layers of health offer a scope and depth of treatment beyond what most other bodywork or massage therapy services cover. We’ll take a little time in this short piece to explain the three levels of health. If you are a client this will help you to see where your concerns may fit, and how your HeartMind Shiatsu sessions may best be structured to meet your needs. If you’re a student or therapist, this will open your mind and heart to new vistas of treatment possibility for your clientele.

The overall understanding is that this is a holistic, not a symptomatic approach to medicine and healing. The whole being must be taken into account. Signs and symptoms are seen as an expression of that wholeness. The overall goal is not the curing of disease, but the promotion and restoration of energetic balance. In the words of Paul Pitchford, author of Healing with Whole Foods, “We don’t treat disease, we restore balance, and we watch the disease go away.”

The three levels of health that we’ll be exploring here are called the Reflexive, the Conditioned and the Constitutional Layers. These were first taught to me by Taoist Master Teacher, Jeffrey Yuen. I have elaborated on them here from my own clinical and teaching experience.

The Reflexive Layer

We begin our exploration with the Reflexive Layer. Of the three, the Reflexive layer is the most at the surface. As the name implies, it has to do with our reflexes, our responses to stimuli. This is an essential layer of healthy functioning, and primarily involves what Chinese Medicine refers to as the Tendino-Muscle Channels of energy. Here in the tendons and muscles, we find our ability to respond. When we approach a flame, we can pull away, when we hear a loud noise we jump. When danger threatens we can effectively respond and protect ourselves. When ease and comfort are present we can easily relax into the moment.

Many problems related to sports or repetitive stress can and are effectively treated at the reflexive layer. One need only watch the speed and precision at which athletics and sports in general demand us to perform and one can see the importance of reflexes. But this is not a level of health that is only found in sports performance. It also manifest is daily life in a myriad of ways, such as in cooking, eating, cleaning and even making contact with loved ones. Well-tuned reflexes that are in balance to the situations in which we find ourselves are essential to good health.

In a bodywork context we can see many treatment applications directed to this tendon-muscle layer. The long strokes of Swedish Massage, deep or gentle often have a powerful and positive effect on this layer of health. Over strained muscles and tendons are coaxed into relaxing, and the stress of repetitive reflexive movements is relieved. In a shiatsu treatment, the intention of the practitioner is directed to this layer, using tsubo stimulation, gentle stretching, mobilization and breath to relax the muscles and tendons of the body. When working with qi, it is vital to recognize the important part played by the practitioner. The ancient proverb teaches us, “where the mind goes, qi flows.” So where you place your attention is where you will move and affect the life energy of your client.

A client seeking relief at this level is also directed to focus their attention on relaxing their musculature and resting their reflexes. A well rested body will be more able to respond in a timely manner the next time reflexes are called for.

The Conditioned Layer

The second layer of health, the Conditioned layer is deeper than the Reflexive layer. At this level we are talking about an entire complex level of interrelating to the world around us. An excellent model for understanding the Conditioned layer of health, is contained in what Dr, Warren Zeigler, author of the book Enspiriting called the KBVAF, your Knowledge, Beliefs, Values, Attitudes and Faith. From understanding the KBVAF you can get a sense of what the Conditioned layer of health is all about. Everything you’ve come to know as true, what you’ve come to believe, the attitudes you have formed toward life and people and circumstances, your very values and that which you have come to have faith in, are all aspects of how you have been conditioned, or learned to respond to the world.

Now much of your KBVAF may be excellently attuned and balanced, but when we have problems at the Conditioned layer, we are often dealing with social challenges, mistaken beliefs, incomplete knowledge, skewed values, problematic attitudes and misplaced faith, that can adversely affect our health. Habits of outlook, perspective, your sense of the way things are, or ought to be, are all wrapped up in the conditioned layer. And if they are frozen in time due to certain incidents in your life. you may have formed what the psychologists call maladaptive behaviors. These can lead to real problems. If unexamined, when something happens that contradicts your KBVAF you can be thrown into a dilemma that can lead to many adverse reactions in your body, mind and spirit. Of course this can be a good thing, if your KBVAF is not serving you, such jarring incidents can be a real wake up call to recalibrate your sense of truth and approach to life.

In HeartMind Shiatsu we treat the conditioned layer of health by working with the twelve regular channels of energy flow, often referred to as the Organ Networks. The conditions of life are actually directly related to our organ health and our basic physiology. These twelve organ networks systematically and thoroughly cover all the fundamental functions of being a human being on physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels. The 12 channels are conventionally referred to by the names of the organs with which they are mostly closely associated. They are the Lung, Large Intestine, Stomach, Spleen/Pancrease, Heart, Small Intestine, Bladder, Kidney, Pericardium, Triple Warmer, Gall Bladder and Liver Channels.

It is important to realize, however, that an energy channel is not a physical organ, rather it is the energy of the function conducted by that organ. For instance the Lung Energy Channel relates to our physical lungs, and as such certainly governs the many aspects of physical respiration. And the Large Intestine Channel relates to the bowels, and the elimination of that which we no longer need. Now the functions of respiration and elimination can be more widely seen to relate to all that comes in and goes out from our lives on a consistent rhythmic basis. Think of your checking account balance and the flow of debits and credits, na dyou can see it as a function related to the Lung and Large Intestine Energy Channels. So to are all matters of gain and loss in life, and therefore grief and all its many shades may be directly addressed through working with the channels and points of the Lung and Large Intestine energy systems.

The organ networks each have multiple layers of functions within the human living system. That list is much too great to go into in detail in this short paper. Suffice to say that a well trained Therapist benefits from being well versed in all of the organ network functions. With that information it is possible to interpret signs and symptoms that are presented, and determine which organ network may be in distress or out of balance, and then assist accordingly with specific treatment strategies. HeartMind Shiatsu training, as well as many excellent schools of Asian Medicine provide a deep and through education on the functions of the organ networks and clinically tested treatment strategies.

What is important to note for the purposes of this discussion is that effective treatment of the conditioned layer of health is facilitated through treating at the Organ Network layer. This is deeper than the tendons and muscles and actually reaches into the physiology of organ function deep in the body. Bringing about balance and harmony in the conditioned layer involves a kind of re-learning how to live in this world through a thoughtful examination of the KBVAF. When that relearning is combined with work on the organ networks of qi energy, you have a powerful approach to supporting lasting change, promote balance and encourage optimal functioning at the conditioned layer.

The Constitutional Layer

Finally we explore the third and deepest layer of health, the Constitutional Layer. This layer in a nutshell, is about destiny. What you were born to be and do in this life. This is a deep philosophical level of health in many ways, but also very practical. For instance, if you are doing something that is not in alignment with who you truly are, it can ultimately have a damaging and debilitating effect on your health. Many in our culture suffer in this aspect of their life, by pursuing careers not because they have a sense of a true calling to do that kind of work, but merely because the pay is good, or because their parents or social status pushed them in that direction. This would be an example of constitutional energy not being utilized properly and leading to deep levels of discontent, and ultimately disease.

The Classical Chinese medical model treats problems of destiny through a special set of energy channels known as the Extraordinary Vessels. These channels are vessels of our original essence, our original source energy, and carry the energy we need to self-actualize and become who we were meant to be. Some of the areas of life covered by the Extraordinary Vessels include issues of Bonding, Independence, Development, Presence, and Hopes, Dreams and Aspirations.

As the name implies, the Constitutional Layer of health also has to do with our inherited essence. These are the things we received from our parents and grand parents, genetic pre-dispositions as well as cultural legacies and expectations. A sensitive and well-crafted treatment strategy can assist you in unraveling the mystery of your genetic inheritance and help you to make choices in this generation that fit your own personal sensitivities and honor your lineage at the same time.

In treatment, addressing the Extraordinary Vessels and questions of destiny is high medicine indeed. If someone is truly in touch with their destiny and living their life purpose, most common problems of every day fall away. The great Ojibway teacher Sun Bear, author of The Medicine Wheel and The Path of Power, when speaking of the vision quest ritual likened it to getting all the pistons firing in your automobile. “If you have a six cylinder engine,” he would say, “and only 4 cylinders are firing, your car will run, but not very well. When you come in line with your vision, it’s like all 6 cynlinders come on line, and your car runs smooth.” A thorough treatment program will address this layer and help you get all your cylinders firing together.
In the bodywork context, specialized movements, point selections and the cultivation of specific intent is required to access and treat at the Extraordinary Vessel layer. The Advanced HeartMind Shiatsu program and any good Chinese Medical training will teach the fundamentals of this system. In my own experience, I admit, my basic training did not make these distinctions or teach me of the existence of the Extraordinary Vessels. When I finally learned them, an entirely new set of therapeutic applications opened up for me and my clients.

In conclusion, you can see from this brief explanation that Classical Chinese Medicine and its perspective on the three layers of health offers you a range of healing depth and scope that is unique and powerful. By exploring the three layers of health with you, a well trained therapist can help you resolve difficulties and concerns in physical, emotional and spiritual realms of living. If you’re seeking help as a client, I urge you to consider your situation in light of these three layers, and be ready to discuss with your therapist the challenges and concerns that you face. From there, tailor-made sessions can be crafted to assist you on your life journey to a renewed sense of balance and vitality. If you are a care giver or bodywork therapist, learning the three unique aspects of the Tendon/Muscle layers, the Regular Channels or Organ Networks and the Eight Extraordinary Vessels will give you a formidable range of effective acu-points to choose from to offer your clients the very best of treatment.

]]>http://www.matthewsweigart.com/the-three-layers-of-health/feed/0The Internal/External Problemhttp://www.matthewsweigart.com/internalexternal-problem/
http://www.matthewsweigart.com/internalexternal-problem/#commentsSun, 12 Oct 2014 20:02:11 +0000http://www.matthewsweigart.com/?p=1099A major problem, deserves an elegant solution. So many times I run across a problem in our culture so deep it bothers me. And it’s so simple to grasp, yet it seems few people have ever really learned the trick. The focus is all on the external, when the true strength lies in the internal. […]

So many times I run across a problem in our culture so deep it bothers me. And it’s so simple to grasp, yet it seems few people have ever really learned the trick. The focus is all on the external, when the true strength lies in the internal.

It seems almost every student I work with has this challenge to face. (Except perhaps for my seniors.) As they begin their study and practice of shiatsu or qigong, they are all totally concerned with the external. This shows up in the desire toe “get it right” or pursue a manic hunt for “results”, “proof” or “outward gain.”

There are many clues to the way out of this trap, even in our culture. The famous movie “You Can’t Take It With You” speaks to one of these. But how we cling to it still, as if we could. Or we reply,”yeah, that maybe be true, but damn if I’m not going to have it while I’m here!” And so we scramble for “it” at every turn. As if that which is outside us will fulfill us. And so often, it seems just beyond our grasp.

And here’s the trick. It’s an inward turning that is required. In the Eastern arts there has long been the distinction between the external arts and the internal arts. The external always attracts the young, yet it is the internal that promises the greatest reward over time.

The external is flashy, showy, big, bold, attention grabbing and obvious. And many are duped by its flashy bling, bling. Yet the true gold lies in the subtle, the internal, that which lies below the surface and deep within. Learn to track your way to that deep internal pool of beauty and you will find the long sought after fulfillment not “out there” but rather “deep inside”.

Growth on the inner path is all that ultimately matters. Indeed to the extent your practice does yield external results, it may even be dangerous to true growth. If you let yourself be duped. Celebrate your external success, and then turn back inward where the true growth lies.

This is subtle work. Even as I write this, I watch the part of me that wants you all “out there” to get this. To see the beauty in what I am sharing here, the depth, the meaning. And yet I know it is not in these words, but in your own inward journey that the gold lies.

Take your focus within. Today there is no test, no examination to prove your worth. There is perfection in being just where and who you are right now, facing yourself just as you are, deep within.

It has long been said, “Beauty is only skin deep”? Ah, but only a certain kind of beauty. True beauty lies deeper still awaiting your inward turning.

During this lovely autumn time of year, we take the path inward toward that inner pool of deep beauty. And that which is most on the surface is where we begin our journey. In my day long workshop this fall, I invite you to take steps with me on this journey inward, as we explore our boundaries, limits, borders, our gains and losses, and our appetite for that which will truly nourish.

I invite you to let go, if but for a moment, the constant outward looking gaze that can drain your sense of authentic true self. Turn inward now and seek the true gold within your own heart and soul.

Many around me now are facing catastrophic external losses, as the California fire season rages on. This is dramatic indeed, and brings us deeply to the questions of what it is that is truly of deepest value. With sensitive regard for all that we hold dear, let’s look within and ultimately hold only that which truly matters. And what that is, is not for me to say to you, but for you to discover.

]]>http://www.matthewsweigart.com/m12teleseminar-overview/feed/0Healing for the Holidayshttp://www.matthewsweigart.com/healing-holidays/
http://www.matthewsweigart.com/healing-holidays/#respondWed, 11 Dec 2013 19:10:45 +0000http://www.matthewsweigart.com/?p=559Free Healing Seminars during Victorian Christmas • Wednesday, December 18, 2013, 7 – 8:30pm, • Sunday, December 22, 2013, 1:00 -2:30 Nirvana Wellness, 419 Broad, Nevada City The holidays are filled with hustle and bustle and social celebration. This can be a time of great joy, or great frustration and loneliness. In this lively free […]

The holidays are filled with hustle and bustle and social celebration. This can be a time of great joy, or great frustration and loneliness. In this lively free seminar I’ll share with you five tips for staying balanced and finding healing during the holidays! Come share timeless ways to bond with friends and family, keep the faith, overcome obstacles, and stay centered throughout the “holy daze” !

]]>http://www.matthewsweigart.com/healing-holidays/feed/0Five Secrets to Career Longevityhttp://www.matthewsweigart.com/five-secrets-to-career-longevity/
http://www.matthewsweigart.com/five-secrets-to-career-longevity/#commentsSat, 07 Sep 2013 18:22:59 +0000http://www.matthewsweigart.com/?p=510Five Secrets to Career Longevity In Your Bodywork and Massage Therapy Practice By Matthew Sweigart, AOBTA® – Certified Instructor Have you heard the statistics that the average career length of a massage therapist is three years? Does it concern you that within five years of graduation most massage therapists are no longer practicing massage? […]

Have you heard the statistics that the average career length of a massage therapist is three years? Does it concern you that within five years of graduation most massage therapists are no longer practicing massage? Have you wondered what’s behind that? Have your worried that you might become one of those statistics? Read on! There’s good news for you below, and with a little targeted help, you can overcome these challenges and have a long and rewarding career. And you know, these tips are good for just about anybody in approaching any task in their life. So, maybe you won’t be applying these to a massage and bodywork practice directly, but more to your life in general.

In this report, I want to address some of those concerns, and share with you secrets I have discovered over the 25 years of my career as a HeartMind Shiatsu Bodywork Therapist and Instructor. These keys have kept my work fresh and vital, kept my body, mind and spirit on focus and helped me remain enlivened by the work. I’m excited to share with you these secrets that can make you a better Bodywork Therapist and keep you in the game longer, helping more people as your practice matures over the years. We need more mature, refined, skilled Bodyworkers to meet the rising stress of the modern world. Hang in there, learn these skills and help yourself and the world in the process!

1) The first secret I want to share with you is what I call the “calibration of your calling”. This could also be called your “big why.” Face it, many of us get into massage and bodywork therapy because we think it will be fun and a good way to make a living. Well, that is true, but there’s a bit of the “rose colored glasses” syndrome going on. It can be fun and a good way to make a living, but it’s also challenging, and confronts you with the need to develop a certain set of skills to manage your experience.

Like the rose, this career is not just pretty petals and a wonderful fragrance, it also has prickly thorns that need to be taken into account. This is related to the Eastern understanding that “Where there’s a front, there’s a back. The bigger the front the bigger the back.” If you don’t have a strong connection to the “front”, you won’t be able to suffer the “back”. If your “calling” isn’t calibrated to dedicate yourself to the benefits that are realized from satisfying bodywork, while at the same time developing the skills necessary to work through the challenges that arise in your day-to-day dealings with clients and practice management, you’ll be in trouble.

2) The second secret is to maintain quality self-care. A relevant truth of this profession is that many of us who enter it are genuine caregivers. Meaning we want to give so much to help others. But the point that is vital to understand, is that you can’t help others if you don’t help yourself. You’ve really got to put your own needs at least on a par with the needs of the clients you are serving. Follow the advice you give them, and step up to your own self-care. That means receiving regular bodywork or massage as well. A good rule of thumb is to receive one session for every 10-15 that you give. Ultimately remember though this isn’t the only aspect of your self-care practice. Self-care for the massage therapist actually includes a lot of “sub-secrets” and crafting your own personal self-care plan is at the core of longevity in your career. Personal exercise is of course critical and I recommend that you find an exercise of the mind/body sort, such as yoga, tai chi or qigong.

3) The third secret, I have for you is pretty self-evident, and also strongly related to the second. It’s what we call in the business your “body mechanics”. So, not only taking care of your self outside the massage room, but inside the massage room as well. Basically, your technique has to be good, and well suited to your own bodily skills and abilities. I myself am a floor-based bodyworker. This style of work isn’t for everybody, though everybody can learn to do it. It requires a certain set of skills of managing my own physical body that are vital to the successful execution of the form and my ability to repeat that form, client after client, day in day out, year after year.

And this is as true for you if you work at a table as it is for those who work on the mat. Working at a massage table all day requires certain physical competency and there are ways to properly train and hold your body to maximize the longevity of your career, preventing fatigue, injury and burn out. Over the years I have to say that the floor-based approach has a lot to teach you about your body mechanics, even if you will never work on the floor. There are aspects of awareness that you learn in a floor-based class that greatly enhance your work at the table and ultimately help you to extend the life of your career.

4) The Fourth secret builds upon this idea of Body Mechanics and brings us back to the first secret as well. I would call it “body, mind, spirit” mechanics. What it means is total alignment. Your body your mind and your spirit need to be fully engaged, for your bodywork or massage therapy career to last. This means regular work on your mind set, your emotional body and your spiritual connection to the work. The thing about bodywork or massage that is different than say carpentry where you also use your hands is that the medium of your work involves close and intimate interaction with other human beings. Carpenters also do skilled work with their hands, and they do have to have a certain ability to “communicate” with the wood they are working. But in massage bodywork the “wood” can talk back to you and has it’s own reactions, and you need to gain skill in your interpersonal communication if you’re going to last in this profession.

5) Lastly, I want to say that there’s no counting out just good old-fashioned determination and commitment to the work. Once you’ve got your calling calibrated, your self-care in place, your body mechanics down and your body mind spirit in alignment, you still have to get up out of bed each day and do the work. Take the shower, eat right, take care of the kids or the partner communications that are required for full and complete living, and then get yourself in there to the table or the mat, and meet and greet and work with the people and all the challenges that they bring you.

Remember you don’t have to be a miracle worker, though miracles often do take place in your practice. Just relax, open up and allow the spirit to work through you. Stay humble and grateful each day that spirit will use you in this way as a vessel for healing on this earth.

And one last point that will really help you with your determination and commitment circles back around to secret number one. If you have a calling for your work, pretty soon a pattern is going to emerge that shows you where your real gift lies. If you are able to identify your gift, that part of life that you are really good at, the problem that you’ve solved for yourself, that will give you a clue as to the work you are meant to do here on the planet. When we solve a significant problem in our own life, it is so sad to people suffering from the same problem. If you can reach them with your your solution to their problem, you will find such a gratifying line of work that it will energize you to get up and keep going each and every day!

So take stock of your gifts and resources. Implement a strategy of self-care. Keep in good form. Stay true to your life purpose. And you’ll have lifelong fulfillment in your work.

If you are in the Northern California Community, on Wednesday evening 9/11, I’m hosting a free live seminar in Nevada City at Nirvana Thai where I’ll explore each of these topics in depth, and hold a healing ritual in memory of the events of this day. If you’re unable to attend, stay tuned for a recorded version of the class. And an opportunity to continue studying this work on line.

As the events of 9/11/2001 illustrate, we do live in tumultuous times. The people who we see featured on the nightly news are clearly the movers and shakers. They either do great and grand works or terrible deeds. It is likely that your work in healing a rotator cuff injury, a lower back ache, or keeping someone out of the need for hip replacement surgery, or holding space for a grieving child or parent will not make the headline news. Massage and Bodywork is ultimately a humble profession, and the calling here is simply be to help people out, day-by-day, through these challenging times. Content yourself with that, and stay connected to your place in the big picture. May your many gifts as a living embodiment of compassion, care and understanding for yourself, your family, friends and your clients, provide you generously with an outstanding and long lasting career life.

]]>http://www.matthewsweigart.com/five-secrets-to-career-longevity/feed/1Mother Cityhttp://www.matthewsweigart.com/mother-city/
http://www.matthewsweigart.com/mother-city/#respondMon, 04 Feb 2013 21:55:54 +0000http://www.matthewsweigart.com/?p=344Mother City, and the origins of Theater There have been many theories created on how Theater came to be an integral part of human civilization. As a student of theater in my early days a particular theory rang out with much truth. And the ideas that spring from it touch upon my early post regarding […]

There have been many theories created on how Theater came to be an integral part of human civilization. As a student of theater in my early days a particular theory rang out with much truth. And the ideas that spring from it touch upon my early post regarding bonding and independence.

The theory arises from the “city states” period in Greek history, when the well known cities of Athens, Thebes, Corinth, Sparta were each states unto themselves. During this time it has been suggested that young ones grew up in their city, their “mother city” until they reached a certain age, and then it was their destiny to go out from that city to explore the world.

At some point, in their explorations they would be called once more back to the mother city, there to tell the tales of their adventures in the world. This retelling of their adventures was a dramatic performance and it served the purpose of both entertaining, and instructing those who lived in the city, and forwarding progress and connection with the world at large.

Here we see the journey of life reflected. We are raised in the relative safety and shelter of the mother. We strike out independently to discover what there is to discover. And we return with stories to enrich and enliven the home from which we sprang.

I’m wondering… Did you venture out from your “Mother City” to discover the world on your own? What is the story you discovered on your journey? Were you able to bring it back home? How has it been received? Are you still upon the trail of your destiny?

Take time with these questions if you will, and consider where you are on your journey. If only to entertain and instruct yourself on the nature of your findings. If you find you care to share your revelations or get support in discovering them, I would be happy to hear from you.

]]>http://www.matthewsweigart.com/mother-city/feed/0Quality of Touchhttp://www.matthewsweigart.com/quality-of-touch/
http://www.matthewsweigart.com/quality-of-touch/#respondMon, 04 Feb 2013 18:04:46 +0000http://www.matthewsweigart.com/?p=325Quality of touch is key. How often do you find yourself touching, or being touched with just the right quality of sensitivity, compassion and care. This art is at the core of human interaction. Sadly, in our hands-off world, many have learned to live without actual physical touch. And yet, the quality of life so […]

]]>Quality of touch is key. How often do you find yourself touching, or being touched with just the right quality of sensitivity, compassion and care. This art is at the core of human interaction. Sadly, in our hands-off world, many have learned to live without actual physical touch. And yet, the quality of life so often suffers from such deprivation. Learning the art of high quality touch, and sharing it with your community can remedy this deprivation and improve your relationships and your health. If you are struggling in any area of your life, a caring hand can make all the difference. Both in giving and receiving. As a career professional bodywork therapist and coach I invite you to engage in learning this art.